A U.S. Naval Academy professor is scheduled to deliver a free lecture, “Precursor to Saratoga: The Battle of Valcour Island in Strategic Context,” noon Oct. 18 at a meeting hosted by the Los Altos Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Guest speaker Commander Ryan Mewett, Ph.D., is associate chair of the History Department at the Naval Academy. A 2001 graduate of the academy, he served as a submarine officer for 17 years before being selected as a permanent military professor. He earned degrees from Waseda University in Japan, the University of Portsmouth in England and Johns Hopkins University. He specializes in the history of the British Empire and the Atlantic world in the 18th century, with a particular focus on the Royal Navy, and teaches courses in these areas and in American naval history.
According to Mewett, the naval Battle of Valcour Island, the 1776 struggle for Lake Champlain, is one of the finest and most underappreciated illustrations of the importance of sea control to be found in the history of the 18th century. His talk will highlight the personalities involved and the battle’s strategic significance.
In 1776, Brig. Gen. Benedict Arnold spent the summer frantically building naval vessels on Lake Champlain in upstate New York. In October, a larger and more powerful British force, similarly assembled over the preceding months, attacked Arnold’s lake squadron in the lee of Valcour Island. By the end of the battle and subsequent pursuit, three-quarters of the U.S. vessels had been captured or destroyed, the Royal Navy had suffered negligible losses and the lake was firmly under British control. Although a crushing defeat for Arnold’s forces from a tactical perspective, the campaign on Lake Champlain delayed the British invasion of New York, buying time for reinforcements to reach the Continental Army, enabling the U.S. victory at Saratoga the following year and ultimately bringing France into the war on the American side. Mewett will discuss how the campaign serves as an illustration of the influence of seapower on military campaigns, even far from the ocean.
To register for the zoom lecture and for meeting location details, visit tinyurl.com/bdehrchb.
About the DAR
The Los Altos Chapter of the DAR focuses on local historical preservation projects, genealogy research, fundraising for a Foothill College scholarship fund, environmental conservation, service to veterans and other community endeavors. For more information, visit losaltos.californiadar.org.
